


News

by ana_kl



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mpreg, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:20:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26623564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ana_kl/pseuds/ana_kl
Summary: The longer Matt keeps it to himself, the less likely it seems that he's going to tell Leon.
Relationships: Leon Draisaitl/Matthew Tkachuk
Comments: 6
Kudos: 166





	News

Matt finds out he's pregnant after a couple weeks of constant fatigue and nausea, ultimately forcing him to miss several practices and a game. The team's worried, staff is worried and fans are speculating like crazy. Somehow, he manages to hide that he's feeling unwell from Leon, even though he looks like he's scrutinizing Matt a little when they videocall. But when he's told that he's almost three months along and will be put on IR for the remainder of the season, Matt realizes that he doesn't really have much of a choice but to tell his boyfriend. He just doesn't know how. 

He's not really scared to tell Leon, maybe just a little nervous, because this is big and it's going to be a huge change in their lives. But he knows Leon's not going to be mad. They've talked about having kids in the future and maybe they hadn't planned on that future being _now_ , but Matt knows he's safe with Leon. He always is. Not knowing how he'd react, he'd been scared to tell Leon that he could get pregnant when their relationship became serious enough to bring it up. There's still a lot of stigma in hockey and Matt's heard enough horror stories to worry about what his boyfriend will think. Leon just looks really happy though, and he kisses Matt and tells him that he'd love to have a baby with him when he's ready. With that time being now, Matt really isn't sure what to do. 

He goes home after getting the news or rather, to his apartment in Calgary. Home for him has been Leon's house in Edmonton for a while now, even though they usually only get off-seasons together and the odd night after a game. He knows that he should at least call Leon, tell him that he has something important to say, that they need to see each other as soon as possible. But then what? How does he actually tell Leon he's pregnant? Does he just say it? Given that this is something that Leon's most likely going to be excited about, should he find a more elaborate, celebratory way to announce it? After all, it's not every day that Leon's going to be told that he'll soon be a father. In just about six months. 

Six months seems like a long time to Matt, yet it doesn't seem like a lot of time at all. Talking about having kids is still different from firmly planning to have them and they're going to have to make the transition from pro hockey players to parents in just six months. Maybe even less if Matt has their baby early. It's all so much to take in and Matt really wishes that Leon had some how been there when he found out. It's almost too much for him to be solely responsible for telling Leon what's probably one of the most important things he'll ever hear in his life. 

Matt sighs as he goes to bed early. He kind of does on purpose: Leon has a game that night, so he texts him that he's really tired. It's not untrue -- it's been a long day. But he'd normally always stay up until Leon can call him after the game. He feels bad, even when he texts Leon that he's going to be amazing on the ice tonight and ends with a kissy emoji. He almost adds that Leon's going to be an amazing father, too, but that's definitely not something he wants to text Leon and certainly not before a game. 

So he goes to bed, has a very fitful night's sleep and he hears his phone vibrate some time in the night when Leon texts him back. When Matt wakes up in the morning feeling a little nauseous, he realizes that he didn't even watch the game and he really feels like shit then. He has a few texts from Leon telling him not to worry about it, then asking him if he's ok. It's an opportunity, Matt realizes. He could reply to Leon, tell him he's fine, but that he has something he really, really needs to tell him. Then they could call, or maybe Matt can drive to Edmonton now that he suddenly has a bunch of time on his hands. 

He doesn't though. Three whole weeks go by and he still doesn't tell Leon that he's almost three months along. Now, he's almost four. And he's showing. Not a lot, but Matt's lean from years of playing hockey and it doesn't take much for his abdomen to look distended. 

At this point, he's honestly surprised that Leon hasn't noticed yet. Then again, he shouldn't be: it's been such a long time since he and Leon have so much as been in the same room. He misses Leon, especially now. And he could just drive over. Leon's starting to get suspicious: he knows now that Matt's on indefinite IR and he's asked a lot about it, but he knows to back off when Matt doesn't want to talk about it. So Leon doesn't push and Matt doesn't offer. Their baby's growing and Matt goes to two checkups by himself, and he still hasn't told Leon. The longer he waits, the more he feels like he can't tell Leon at all, because Leon might not be mad that he's pregnant, but he probably will be when he finds out that Matt's waited almost a month to tell him. 

Matt feels ridiculous. In the last few weeks, he's read more articles on telling a partner about a pregnancy than he can count and he still doesn't have a plan he can act on. He even went as far as to buy a pair of baby shoes to leave as some kind treasure hunt for Leon, like a cute post he'd seen online. He's gone through elaborate idea after elaborate idea but in the end, he's missing the key part of any pregnancy reveal: the father of his child. 

A few days later, he's in Edmonton. Leon has a few days off and Matt invites himself over. He goes with the intention of telling Leon he's pregnant; he ends up keeping his silence for a whole day and wearing the loosest clothes he has. If Leon notices, he doesn't say anything, but Matt catches him looking at him like he's trying to figure something out. 

He's sitting in bed, waiting for Leon to get out of the shower, when he decides that he's got to do something. His heart's racing, but he really can't keep going like this. The sweatshirt he's wearing (an Oilers one, with Leon's number) is comfortably loose, but he can feel his growing bump through the material and he can't put up with the anxiety of not telling Leon anymore. 

He's sitting cross-legged on top of the sheets as Leon emerges from the bathroom in just a pair of sweatpants. Matt bites his lower lip nervously, fiddling with his sleeves and wringing his hands as he watches Leon towel-dry his hair. Leon hasn't noticed the little display he's made that he hopes will get his message across. He can't even mindlessly browse his phone to take his mind off his anxiousness right now because he's so nervous. 

"What do you want to do tomorrow, Matty --" Leon starts, then freezes as he stares openly at what Matt's laid out on his side of the bed. 

"...Surprise?" Matt smiles a little uncertainly. 

Leon takes a few steps forward, still fixating on the baby shoes and the baby-sized Oilers jersey, with Leon's number and "Daddy" printed on the back. His hands are shaking as he drops his towel somewhere on the floor and picks up the clothing. Matt feels like his heart's going to beat out of his chest. 

"You're...?" Leon looks at Matt like he's in total shock and Matt isn't sure if that's a good thing. 

He nods slowly, hesitantly and for the first time, really starts worrying about Leon's reaction. What if Leon had changed his mind about wanting kids? Or what if he still wanted them... just not with Matt? 

"How long?" Leon asks, sitting down in front of Matt on the bed, taking his hands in his. 

"...I'm...um... almost four months...?" Matt says quietly. "And I... I found out like three weeks ago. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I know I should've, but I just didn't know how. I'm sorry..." 

"Hey... don't apologize, Matty," Leon smiles, voice honey sweet as he traces over Matt's cheekbones. "Next time, don't be scared to tell me." 

"Ok," Matt smiles, then looks at Leon in surprise. "Wait, next time?" 

"Of course," Leon grins, letting a steady, strong hand fall to Matt's abdomen. "I know we still need to have our first kid, but if you want to, I want more kids with you in the future," he says against Matt's lips and Matt feels his cheeks heat. 

He lets himself smile in relief, then wonders why he even doubted Leon in the first place. Then, Leon's kissing him and he's no longer thinking about anything else.


End file.
